Rifaat: Public transportation needs are urgent

Published 2:22 pm, Saturday, January 3, 2015

Loop 610 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 59 west of downtown Houston is the most congested segment of highway in the state, according to TxDOT.

Loop 610 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 59 west of downtown Houston is the most congested segment of highway in the state, according to TxDOT.

Photo: Cody Duty, Staff

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﻿Transportation systems need to key in on regional-state, metropolitan and city-neighborhood levels.﻿

﻿Transportation systems need to key in on regional-state, metropolitan and city-neighborhood levels.﻿

Photo: Marie D. De Jesus, Staff

Rifaat: Public transportation needs are urgent

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If you think Houston traffic is bad today, fasten your seat belts. With the city's explosive growth, you can count on an additional 2.1 million autos on the roads by 2030, when the area population is expected to rise by 3.5 million.

This rapid growth will be a transportation and environmental nightmare unless there is a plan for smart, sustainable planning and development. That plan begins with a major public transportation system. Rail opponents are going to have to change their tune or suffer the consequences of a horribly overloaded street system.

Houston is woefully behind with only 28 miles of rail including projects under construction. By comparison, New York has 249 miles of rail lines, and Dallas has 90 miles along three lines.

The city suffers today from low-density suburban growth (or sprawl), which without serious public transport creates major dependence on the automobile. Consider that 2.1 million additional cars on our roads translates to an additional 17,640 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every day.

The situation has risen in part by more than a century of developer-driven radial centric growth, and, as the capital of the oil industry, by a relentless dependency on the automobile.

It would be impractical to try to convert Houston to a predominant public transportation system. What is needed is a balance between public and private transportation systems.

There is a critical need for coordinating land-use and transportation systems based on three key levels: regional/state, metropolitan and city/neighborhood.

At the regional and state level, high-speed rail between major cities is the first step in reducing Texas' reliance on automobiles for community. The proposed Houston-Dallas high-speed rail is a first step toward reducing Texans' reliance on automobiles for commuting between major cities.

The high-speed rail should connect the five major cities - Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth. To achieve this, a coordinated effort is necessary between city leaders, state authorities and transportation planning agencies in designing and implementing a statewide system. The rail system can also accommodate several new towns along its right of way.

On the metropolitan level, the challenge could be to find adequate rights of way to accommodate a rail system. Houston is fortunate to have HOV lanes on most of its major highways as well as two toll roads that can accommodate either an elevated or on-grade rail system without the need for land acquisition and major disruption to the city fabric. The land around these new rail lines and stations could be used to create new high-density, mixed-use and mixed-income development utilizing park and ride sites as well as highway right-of-way air rights

For example, as part of the ongoing work on U.S. 290, the Texas Department of Transportation should consider removing one lane and converting it to an elevated monorail system. By doing so, we can reduce the total number of commuter trips and commuting time as well as reduce carbon emissions. To achieve this, a broad metropolitan transit authority needs to be established that includes representatives from the 13 affected counties as well as state and other local agencies. The commuter rail lines would necessarily connect to the local light rail and bus.

The crux of the problem comes at city and neighborhood levels. Major new high-density developments of apartments and condominiums mushrooming out of control within Loop 610 without the benefit of being served by adequate public transportation have already begun to generate major traffic congestion and pollution.

In making the best use of rail, it is essential that Metro take a proactive role in terms of land consolidation for development at the transit stations. Currently, land speculation around these areas drives up the price of land, reducing the potential for developing housing for those who would most likely use rail. Metro should work with developers and current residents to provide the best urban design solution for each rail station.

With these various points in mind, I propose Westheimer as an alternative choice to Richmond Avenue and suggest that monorail is the answer. Due to the narrow right-of-way on Westheimer, the advantage of a monorail system is that it has a very small profile and footprint. The Westheimer corridor has high density, particularly as you move west beyond Loop 610. The corridor can serve both the Galleria/Post Oak area as well as downtown through the Main and Scott Street intersections.

This transportation plan offers alternative possibilities for development and city growth. The recommendations also offer the citizens of Houston alternative choices of transportation as well as lifestyles.

Or, we can continue to grow in the same manner and perhaps invest in manufacturing face masks to protect against the air pollution we will face in 2030.

Rifaat, who heads SIR Inc. Architects and Planners, founded and for many years was head of the graduate program of architecture at the University of Houston. He is a tenured professor there and lectures on urban development and sustainable communities.